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Publisher's Summary

The planet is called Banshee. The air is unbreathable, the water poisonous. It is the home of the most implacable enemies that humanity, in all its interstellar expansion, has ever encountered.

Felix is a scout in A-team Two. Highly competent, he is the sole survivor of mission after mission. Yet he is a man consumed by fear and hatred. And he is protected not only by his custom-fitted body armor, the culmination of 10,000 years of the armorers' craft, but also by an odd being which seems to live with him, a cold killing machine he calls "the Engine."

As imagined

I read the paper back some years back before revisiting in this medium. The book is fantastic, one of my all time favourites. A rich and fulfilling story, with action a plenty, a deep reflective note and a satisfying twist. I only wish the author had written more.

The audio book was equally excellent. The narration, the performance, it took me back to the first reading. It was exactly as i had imagined, not an easy feat. The narrator was well matched. The pace, rhythm, ebb and flow equally well matched to story line.

Do your self a favour... sit back, be still, and listen.

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

George Dean

19-03-2013

An intense and unusual work, wonderfully performed

There are really two stories here, that eventually come together, and they are somewhat different. The Felix narrative tracks the experience of an individual soldier in an interstellar war. Steakley expends little time on the tech details and essentially none on the politics, the war is apparently completely pointless, but focuses instead on the actual experience that Felix endures. The writing is distinctive, with a chopped flow and bursts of intensity that mirror the fighting, and Weiner's narration captures this. It's very fast paced, and I found it even a bit emotionally draining. Felix has a rough ride.

The Jack Crow character provides the comic release and I found that storyline a welcome break from the intensity of the Felix chapters. Again, Weiner brings out the fun in that part of the story.

Ultimately Armor is a psychological fable, more than simple military SF, examining how people think, act and feel under extreme situations, the nature of heroism, the many ways people are motivated... some people look tough but aren't, some are brave and don't know why, some know how to lead but don't want to... lot's of unexpected little character dimensions.

Be prepared for large parts of this story to make little sense or be complete mysteries. Why the war? How do the warring technologies match up? Where does this fight fit into the larger war? How could their intel be so completely wrong? I didn't mind this; the story is not about the war, it's about these people, and this is a much more realistic way that such events are actually experienced. Only in novels do we get the "God view" that gives us knowledge of everything. Not in this novel, however. This one's all about the characters and they repeatedly say that they don't have any idea what's going on, and since they don't, neither do we.

29 of 30 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

clifford

23-04-2015

Hella Good - Not a simple military sci-fi story

I have read 1000's and 1000's of genre books. When I hand out a sci-fi to friends as a recommendation, I often give them this one.

This book has two halves. The first one, think Starship Troopers the movie. I think the movie took more from this book than from Heinlein's story. Only this book has a soul, whereas the movie was all campy fun.

The second half starts off so quietly, its disconcerting. But if you give it a shot, it will reward you.

All together, this is one of my favorite genre books. I am saddened that the author died before writing anything other than one more book. If he had done more I think he would have been remembered as one of the giants of the field.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Aerindel

16-09-2009

Not just a story this is literature

Like the others who have just posted reviews this is one of those books that I have been keeping an eye out for since I joined Audible. Like the Hyperion cantos this is book is more than science fiction, it is real literature that is a pleasure to read. At its heart this is a story about two very different psychopaths, One a bitter semi suicidal man who is driven by an inner demon that forces him to survive at all costs, and the other, A passionate maniac with a cunning vicious streak that he uses to accomplish his goals despite the guilt he occasionally feels.
This is not a David Weber or John Ringo style military novel. The technology is painted in broad strokes and in most places lacks any real detail. The energy weapons are simple called "Blazers", thrown weapons are "Blaze Bombs" the artillery are "Laser Cannon" Normally I hate this generic kind of sci-fi but in this book the characters are so well written that you feel the battle more than see it. This author is not a world builder or an armchair general but someone who can write the soul of a real killer, something that many so called military fiction writers fail at. Many people may not "get" this book but for those of us that have felt the touch of the "Engine" this is book is a striking experience.

Normally I don't rate the narrator, caring more about the story instead but in this case I will say that he does an excellent job. You can always tell who's speaking just by the voice of the character and the voices fit perfectly with what I imagined when I first read this book.

33 of 37 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

robin

24-07-2015

Great book, well acted

Can't recommend enough. Still feels fresh and relevant. Get this book. Felix personifies the soldiers dilemma with humanity and sense of self.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Old Hippy

12-09-2009

What a great story! Non-stop suspense!

Sure, this is really good SciFi - but the technology aspects take a back seat to a really gripping story. It is the kind of science fiction that will never seem out of date. Felix is a take-no-prisoners soldier running away from his past, kinda like going into the French Foreign Legion. Crowe is an irreverant space pirate who breaks out of prison and is talked into being a saboteur. Their lives ultimately intersect in a way I never saw coming. I found myself listening to this every chance I could, every place I could get away with it. And, of course, there are the Ants - the last time I was so fascinated by an alien threat was the movie Aliens (a long time ago). From beginning to end, you won't regret it. Also, Weiner's narration is as good as it gets!

15 of 19 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Shieldslinger

22-06-2017

One of the ALL-TIME Classics of sci-fi

Armor is one of the ALL-TIME unappreciated gems of sci-fi. I go back and revisit the tale of Jack Crow and Felix every so often, and it only improves with time.Well written, well performed, action-packed and heart wrenching.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

driegle

12-09-2015

Longtime Favorite

Such a great read and hearing the narrator do an even better performance than my internal voice was amazing.Halo on a personal scale.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

usmcsky

31-07-2015

Excellent story

The storyline was incredible. Fantastic reader as well. It left the listener wanting more and cheering on the hero throughout. Delightful characters, great plot, and articulate performance.... highly recommend.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Nick F.

20-07-2015

Best sci-fi book.

Terrific book. lots of fighting and lots of "ants." there needs to be more authors like John Steakley. also has a great narrator.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Shawn Smith

01-04-2015

Loved the Book 25 years ago.. Even better now.

Excellent story telling. The book stands on its own but, this narration makes it so easy to just Listen and listen some more.. Anybody that is fan of high tech futuristic fiction will love this and be able put yourself in the main characters shoes and live the journey. Just As when I read the book over 20 years ago as a teen, I found myself Talking back to it and laughing and gritting my teeth again. Loved it all.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Customer

07-07-2014

Mechanised reality

If you could sum up Armor in three words, what would they be?

Better starship troopers

What was one of the most memorable moments of Armor?

Steakley conveys the emotions and concepts of both war and the resulting loss incredibly. His machine concept will be familiar to many.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The final scenes are good - summarising really what the book is about and the themes that run through it.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Man, machine, war.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Mr. Mark Lewis

17-07-2018

Great sci fi epic

Really enjoyed this kept wondering what's happened and yes I guessed the end twist but loved it.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

mark

23-05-2015

Classic story telling.

An interesting read with some likeable characters. A few too many loose ends for me at the end but still thoroughly enjoyed the book.